Unapologetic in our commitment to the truth of Christ and the truth of Scripture, OKWU models a way of thought, a way of life, and a way of faith. This is a place of serious study, honest questions, and critical engagement, all in the context of a liberal arts community that honors the Primacy of Jesus Christ, the Priority of Scripture, the Pursuit of Truth, and the Practice of Wisdom.

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Prepare to become a leader in your field with highly marketable skills. Whether it’s a bachelor’s program or master’s degree, OKWU will help you take the next step in your professional life, with programs that are completely online.

On February 12, 2015 Howard Dean assumed the guest’s chair on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. He opined that Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s presidential aspirations are troubling because Walker lacks a college diploma. More specifically Dean said, “Were [Walker] to become president, [he] would be the first…in many generations that did not have a college degree…the issue is how well-educated is this guy? And that’s a problem.”

For the sake of argument, let’s admit that Howard Dean’s premise has some merit. Let’s assume he’s right: that one’s education does matter and that, as Richard Weaver wrote in 1948 (ironically the same year of Mr. Dean’s birth), ideas have consequences; that it all starts with education; that good ideas lead to good beliefs, good behavior, good culture and good government; and that bad ideas lead to bad beliefs, bad behavior, bad culture, and bad government. Let’s assume that education does indeed have a consequence and a predictable outcome. And let’s also assume, that if so, we would be wise to take a look at the ideas colleges have taught for the 67 years since Mr. Dean’s birthday and Richard Weaver’s seminal publication and ask ourselves: What have the ideas we’ve taught for the past seven decades actually wrought in our kids, our culture, and our country?

For example, for 67 years we have disparaged “dead white European males” in our college classrooms. Are we surprised that we now have a president whose first action was to remove the bust of Winston Churchill from the White House and send it back to England?

For 67 years we’ve sent our kids off to sit under the tutelage of faculty who have panned a Judeo-Christian ethic and praised its antithesis. Are we surprised we now have a White House that is seemingly more aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and the PLO than with Benjamin Netanyahu or Franklin Graham?

For 67 years we’ve taught our next generation “it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as it works for you.” Are we surprised that we now see a total lack of moral clarity in our national leaders and that these people who were taught to despise the Church and its standards now behave like cads, cheats, frauds, and fakes?

For 67 years we’ve told our youth that there is a “moral equivalency” between America and its enemies and thus implied that our nation is bad and the rest of the world is right to hate us. For 67 years we have instructed our students to laugh at “right wingers” who warned of Communism and government largesse. For 67 years college professors have said that Marxism has its merits and that liberation theology is the only “good religion.” For 67 years we’ve inculcated the idea that socialism is better than free enterprise. For 67 years we have fomented class resentment, racism and entitlement. For 67 years professors have preached that pastors and priests are stupid. For 67 years we’ve taught that capitalism is the cause of crime. For 67 years we have fed our kids a diet of moral nihilism (known as sex education). For 67 years we’ve instructed our boys and girls to use a condom rather than obey God’s Commandments.

Why are we surprised in what we see on today’s nightly news? Our judges can’t find the word “marriage” in Webster’s dictionary. Our state department thinks the way to stop terrorists is to give them jobs. Our president says he appreciates the “legitimate grievances” of the terrorists who are crucifying children, burning people alive, and cutting off the heads of Christians. Why are we surprised to see tens of millions of women buying the lie of 50 Shades of Grey – of pornography and the objectification of the female body – when colleges have been promoting “sex weeks” on campuses across the land and teaching these same women the virtues of sadomasochism, bondage, and dominance for the past several decades?

Yes, Mr. Dean, education, as you say, is “a problem.” Ideas do have consequences and the lousy ideas we have been teaching in our colleges and universities for the past several decades are bearing themselves out daily before our eyes. But with all due respect sir, I would rather have a president who hasn’t been indoctrinated by the vacuous nonsense cited above than one who has. I would rather have a president with no degree who knows he’s not God than one with a degree who thinks he is.

Talking Points With President Piper is a weekly column featured in the Examiner-Enterprise newspaper. In addition to serving as the Oklahoma Wesleyan President, Dr. Everett Piper is also a frequent guest commentator on a variety of talk radio programs across the nation, as well as a published author and essayist.

OKWU at a Glance

Located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Wesleyan University is a national leader in Christian higher education. OKWU is one of the top Christian universities in the country, receiving recognition from U.S. News and World Report, Forbes.com, and CBSNews MoneyWatch both for its excellent academic reputation as well as its missional integrity.

OKWU is a four-year, Christian university of the liberal arts and sciences that is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). OKWU also receives professional accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and the International Assembly of Collegiate Business Education (IACBE).

At OKWU, we’re proud to stand out as a beacon of God’s truth and light.